Observations On the Eccentric (Psychotic)
by weeatbabies
Summary: Though the stranger proved to be an invaluable asset as well as a true friend, there were times Chrom couldn't help but feel that something had gone wrong in that field, that he'd picked a faulty sword out of the rack...


**A/N: I love how FE:A lets you name and customize the in-game tactician. I also feel cheated by it. The "Avatar" is a fully fleshed out character with a personality, history, and background. You have as much control over Robin as you do over any other character in the game: Who they fight, how they fight, and who they marry. This fic is my attempt to alter Robin's personality without drastically changing the rest of the FE:A world. Naturally, the rest of the Shepherds are bound to act differently around him…**

* * *

There was something a little strange about their traveling companion, Frederick noted.

…Well, there was actually a lot of strange about their new traveling companion. The curious circumstances under which they'd discovered him were only the beginning. One would assume that it wouldn't get much more suspicious than a Plegian sorcerer lying facedown in the middle of an Ylissean roadway, but Robin swiftly furthered the enigma surrounding himself by delivering a very convincing performance of amnesiac. He wore the formal robes of Plegian aristocracy, but bore the ceremonial blade of a Grimleal priest. Yet his tongue and his mannerisms resembled a common craftsman, or perhaps an injured sailor. Above all else, the man was a complete lunatic. After the Plegian had punched Chrom in the groin, manhandled Lissa, and climbed a tree whilst declaring himself king of the bird people, Frederick had been quite adamant about killing the psychopath, but had ultimately been curbed by a pained Chrom.

("I don't think I've ever met anyone who's ever needed help more before in my life," Chrom groaned as he cupped his unmentionables. Behind him, a dull thud not unlike that made by a body falling out of a tree punctuated his statement.)

But when he'd caught sight of the flames billowing from the village of Southtown, the Plegia…changed. Such was authority in which the Plegian had voiced his commands that Frederick had found himself obeying the stranger as naturally as if he'd been the knight's old drill sergeant. The Plegian had demonstrated a remarkable propensity for not only spells and swords, but command and strategy. The crisp, clear voice in which he uttered his commands rang well over the din of the fighting. Sharp, purposeful, articulate and intelligent, the Plegian turned into a completely different person. Only the albino Plegian's unique appearance and subsequent reversion to idiocy convinced Frederick that it wasn't some other individual who'd come to the Shepherd's rescue in Southtown.

Not an hour seemed to go by without the Shepherds making a discovery that further obscured his identity. By nightfall, the eldest of the Shepherds was beginning to doubt the man's humanity.

"We…we have knives, Robin," Lissa interjected weakly, her paleness evident even by dim firelight.

"Mhe whoo," The Plegian replied cheerfully. "Wike a uzen, in act. Ah an ide an awowy in theese obes!"

"I think she meant for eating," Chrom put in, despite having no idea what the Plegian had said.

The Plegian gave him a confused look. "Whuzz aht ow?"

"First of all, you may want to consider swallowing before speak," Frederick stated. "Second of all… no, not even being born in a barn could explain this."

Robin followed the knight's advice, his jaw almost unhinging as he swallowed more bear meat than could fit properly in his mouth. Grease and gore glittered orange across his entire face. It made the sheepish smile he gave more macabre than placating.

"Oh. Sorry," The Plegian apologized, "I'm really starving. I feel like I haven't eaten this well in… well, a long time."

Ever, if his voracity was proportional to the interval of time since his last meal. The man dug into his meal with the gusto of a pack of wolves. Frederick watched in muted horror as the Plegian picked up a severed bear paw and began to strip off the skin and fur. Skin and sinew snapped and tear as he clawed away with his bare hands.

"That's… that's okay," Lissa gulped, turning a sickly green. "I'm… I'm going to go collect firewood or… something." She continued, rising unsteadily to her feet.

The Plegian missed this statement, too caught up sating his hunger. Deeming the half-cleaned paw to be sufficiently prepared, he bared his mouth impossibly wide and, without so much as warming the raw appendage over the fire, buried teeth into it. Congealed blood smeared his face as he worried away at the vast slab of meat.

"I'll come with you," Chrom said quickly, shooting up from his own seat.

Though both his instinct and his stomach urged him to follow his charges, Frederick stayed put. It galled him to be away from his charges, but there were few dangers in these woods that Chrom could not handle. Besides, Frederick was keeping an eye on the greatest of these threats, the Plegian sitting across from him.

The knight sat silently in front of the fireplace, lance resting on his legs. Silently, he contemplated exactly what to do as the savage glutted himself. On one hand, the Plegian was an incredibly suspicious, dangerous, and not to mention unstable individual that had to be removed from Chrom and Lissa's presence at once. On the other, it was thanks to his assistance that Frederick's charges had emerged from Southtown unscathed. Of course, the circumstances regarding that attack itself were also curious…

Half of the bear paw disappeared as Frederick pondered the situation, a span of time that the knight estimated to be around six seconds. Frederick decided to interject himself into the Plegian's highly audible chewing with a cough.

"Plegian…" The knight began. "There is a matter I'd like to discuss with you."

The Plegian chewed, swallowed, and proceeded to look at Frederick with furrowed brows. "Plegian?"

"Plegian," The knight stated flatly. "Don't think I, for a second, bought your rubbish about amnesia or 'Robin'. While Lord Chrom may be willing to play along with your fantasy, I can ill afford to be as lenient as him."

The Plegian frowned as he tore off a chunk of the paw and resumed chewing, eye's wandering toward the sky. Seeing how the man seemed to have no intention to pause in his feeding, the knight pressed on.

"Furthermore, the timing of your appearance was most opportune," Frederick said. "Right before a major brigand attack on a Ylissean settlement? An attack that, in itself, is most unusual. Even in these troubled times, an attack of such boldness by common bandits is unlikely. Mercenaries? Or perhaps disguised Plegians…"

Frederick watched the Plegian's expression carefully, searching for a reaction. Despite his performance earlier, the Plegian proved to be less than adept at controlling his features. The dark mage began to look apprehensive.

"In conclusion, I cannot ignore the… curious circumstances of your appearance, nor your probable background. But nor can I ignore the possibility that you may be a genuine amnesiac who had rendered assistance to Lord Chrom during a crisis. Therefore, I believe it best if we parted company at the nearest opportunity. and agreed to have nothing more to do with each other," The knight said grimly.

In these troubled times, it was a colder sentence then it sounded. It was true that the Shepherds had dispatched most of the brigands in the area this very afternoon, but there was little doubt that enough had survived to waylay a lone traveler. Particularly if this lone traveler had been responsible for the death of their comrades. Left on his own, the Plegian would be in grave danger.

The Plegian continued to chew, scowl deepening as he looked into the night sky. Frederick tightened his grip on his lance in case the Plegian tried anything desperate.

"It would probably be ideal that you left before Lord Chrom returned," Frederick continued, a suggestion that wasn't a suggestion. "I would advise-"

"Is magical phenomena of that scale a common occurrence around here?" The Plegian interjected suddenly.

"What?"

"Big, purple circles appearing in the air?" The Plegian clarified. "Portals, if I were to make a guess."

Against his better judgment, Frederick turned to follow the Plegian's gaze. Sure enough, circular rifts were emerging in the distant night sky. Golden rings lined with unintelligible runes bordered the shimmering, mauve disks. As he watched, shadowy figures pulled themselves out of the violet depths. Even in the darkness, from hundreds of yards away, their malicious nature was evident to the eye. The cruel, sharp angles of their inhuman outlines sent chills running down Frederick's spine.

As if in response to the madness in the sky, the earth began to tremble. Boulders shifted like pebbles in a pan. Trees swayed like blades of grass. The ground was heaving like a ship deck in a storm, nearly throwing Frederick off the log he was seated on. The knight dropped his weapon to steady himself, cold sweating beading on his brow. Ylisse was not known for its tremors. He'd never heard, much less seen, an earthquake of this magnitude. It was as if the very world was falling apart!

Red flames abruptly lit up the horizon. Frederick's eyes widened in shock as a red chasm erupted in the distance, shooting up into the night sky. Magma erupted below the rising earth, launching burning projectiles high into the air. The knight watched in horrified fascination as they arced through the darkness, trailing tails of fire like comets. For a moment, they hung suspended in the air, blazing like miniature suns. Then they began to grow at an alarming rate.

Out of the corner of his eye, Frederick saw the Plegian dive behind the log he'd been sitting on. The knight proceeded to do the same.

Some of the fireballs exploded as they landed. Some of them bounced off the ground, carving horse-sized gouges in the dirt. Frederick watched as one egg-shaped stone hit the ground and began rolling end over end, leaving afterimages in its wake. The burning stone proceed to collide with a tree, bringing the tree down with a resounding crash. Flames were already beginning to crawl up its smoldering trunk, producing thick, dark smoke.

Hours, days, or perhaps seconds passed. Eventually, the thunderous crash of falling boulders was replaced by the gentle crackle of spreading flames. The ground seeking began to slow and still, though not in Frederick's head. Cautiously, the knight looked up, not quite believing he'd survived the disaster.

Across the clearing, the Plegian's voice sounded from behind his log, "In the twelve hours since I've woken up with amnesia, I have been strong armed into a journey by a psychopathic nobleman, attacked by brigands, and nearly incinerated in a freak volcano slash earthquake. I'm beginning to suspect that my memory loss is my brain's attempt to save my sanity from all the stupid that occurs in this country on a daily basis."

The knight ignored him, eyes in the general direction Lissa and Chrom had departed. Only Naga knew if they'd survived the tremors. And then there were those suspicious portals that had immediately preceded the earthquake, which were no doubt tied to the ground shaking. His charges were in grave danger.

Shakily, Frederick rose to his feet. The knight of Ylisse ran into the woods, leaving the Plegian behind.

* * *

Unfortunately, the flames that were beginning to consume the forest were sporadic and spread apart. What little light they provided was hardly sufficient to safeguard Frederick from pebbles. And boulders. And tree roots. And ditches. And small hillocks. And large cliffs. The knight noted that an alarming number of those had formed after the tremors.

It was hard to appreciate what dangers such common objects presented until one was full tilt amongst them in pitch darkness. One errant step, and the knight could find himself careening face first into a sharp tree branch by the full weight of his armor. Tumbling down a ravine and breaking his neck was another distinct possibility. It was for this reason that Frederick was advancing through the woods at a near-crawl, despite the fact that his charges were quite possibly being eaten alive. He would be no good to Chrom and Lissa with his brains smeared all over a tree trunk. Also, that'd be quite an embarrassing way to die.

Despite his rational decision, however, the knight was on the verge of panicking. Regrets filled his mind as he stumbled through the forest, spear held in front of him like a blind man's walking stick. He should've snatched a stick from the fire, or taken the time to light a proper torch. He should've stayed by Lord Chrom's side, damn whatever complaints the man had. He shouldn't have stayed with the Plegian, however suspicious the man wa-

_"Thunder!"_

The sudden exclamation, the flash of white light, and a terrific explosion snapped Frederick out of his thoughts. In an instant, the knight was facing the way he came, lance held at the ready.

The Plegian stalked into view, illuminated by the light of a burning tree. In one hand, he clasped an open tome, its pages flipping wildly despite the absence of a wind to move them. His other hand was pointed straight toward Frederick, a ball of sizzling light half-cupped in his hand.

_"Thunder!"_

His words were nearly drowned out by the roar that followed, not to mention the sound of a toppling tree. Frederick looked behind him to find yet another burning tree trunk.

"What in Naga's name are you-"

"That's the way, right? The Plegian demanded, pushing past the knight. "C'mon."

The knight hesitated. Was the Plegian helping him? "What…what are you doing?"

The Plegian threw him a questioning look. "Uh, going to go help Chrom," he frowned. "That's what we're supposed to be doing, isn't it?"

Frederick frowned, unwilling to take that answer at face value. But now was not the time to press the issue. "But the trees! Are you trying to start a forest fire?"

The Plegian shrugged, "We need light. Now are you coming or not?"

The knight opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it. Closed it. With a growl of frustration, he followed after the Plegian, careful to stay behind the mage and his work.

"It is a necessary evil," Frederick reasoned as the Plegian blasted his way through the forest. "With those creatures about, we need to find Lord Chrom and Lady Lissa as soon as possible. Once we've found them, we can probably outrun any inferno that this madman has created. Every minute counts."

The knight repeated this mantra to himself over and over again, steadfastly ignoring the fact that Robin was further endangering hundreds of acres of pristine Ylissean forest, as well as the villages that bordered the forest, and dozens more that relied on said forest for their livelihood. In time, this was to become Frederick's standard procedure for handling all matters Robin related.

In addition to the improved lighting, the Plegian's pyromania had the added benefit of making the two extremely visible. Of course, it hardly seemed like an advantage when the first of the monsters suddenly leapt at them from the darkness. Frederick reacted instantly, deftly parrying the blow to his head and driving the haft of his spear hard into the beast's temple. There was no growl of frustration, no cry of pain. Only a soft cracking sound, like a twig being snapped. Frederick watched it tumble across the ground, far more easily than its size would suggest.

"What the… what the HELL?!"

It was then that Frederick got his first good look at the enemy. The sight of it gave rise to sentiments similar to the Plegian's. The creature's skin was a dark, the repellant shade of misshapen, dry rot. Ash and shadows swirled around its broad-shouldered frame, clinging to it like an unnatural cloak. It's face was a morbid mask, its leathery hide drawn taut against an abnormally large skull. Its mouth was forced open into an unclosing maw, a dark hole ornamented by half a dozen teeth. Purple flames burned in its sunken eyeholes, burning with malicious intent. The monster was something plucked straight out of nightmares, a creature woven of death and shadows.

But by far the worst aspect of it was the piecemeal armor it wore, the weathered steel that encased its misshapen body. The helmet was distended by the swollen head, the gauntlets split open by the talon-like hands. Rust and grime had claimed every inch of the surface not stained by dried blood. But torn, faded, damaged, and defaced as it was, Frederick could still recognize the plate armor of an Ylissean knight.

"Is that a _person?_" The Plegian almost shrieked.

_A corpse_, Frederick mentally corrected, _a reanimated corpse, risen form the dead._

As the creature struggled to crawl back up, Frederick drove his spear through its chest. The… the Risen, Frederick mentally dubbed it, gave a deathly rattle in response. But the monster continued to move, its form continued to rise. Frederick struggled to pull his spear from its body, but it was stuck fast somewhere in the Risen's chest, trapped between its ribs. The knight cursed and pulled in vain as the Risen seized his spear by the haft and reached for Frederick his with other, claw-tipped hand.

"_Thunder!"_

In a flash of light, the creature's head vanished. It's fingers convulsed for a moment before going limp.

The knight spun to face the Plegian, who was watching his tome disintegrate in his hand. The Plegian frowned, dropped the remains, and patted the dust off his robes.

"Aaaaaand I'm dry," the Plegian stated. "Okay, Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass, what do we do now?"

Frederick opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the rustling of branches. The knight turned to see Chrom and Lissa bursting into the clearing, panting but apparently unharmed.

"Milord! Milady!" Frederick cried out at the sight of them. "Are you hurt?"

"Frederick! Robin!" The princess sounded as relieved as Frederick felt. "I thought a tiny thundercloud was coming to kill us!"

"Tiny? From you?!" The Plegian squawked, outraged. "Midget, I've seen handspun ragdolls not only twice your size, but thrice as cute!"

"HEY!"

"It's not that I don't appreciate your assistance, but don't you think you two should've been a bit more discreet?" Chrom asked while Lissa lunged at the Plegian.

"We needed to get here as soon as possible, milord," Frederick apologized. "We can worry about the repercussions of the Plegian's actions AFTER we put these…" The knight eyed the rapidly disappearing remains of the monster. The thing was rapidly crumbling to dust, much like the Plegian's tome. "Things… to the blade. Eyes open, now. We know nothing about this enemy."

"Right." Chrom replied grimly. "Lissa, Robin stop… stop doing that."

"HWE/SHWEE STAHTED IT!"

"Doesn't matter, stop trying to pull each other's faces off!"

"HWE/SHWEE STAHTED IT!"

"You two! We're in the middle of a battle!"

"HWE/SHWEE STAHTED IT!"

"I DON'T CARE, FINISH IT!"

* * *

To Frederick's weary relief, the party was unimpeded in their flight from the woods. No more of these risen dead ambushed them, and thanks to the recent rains, the Plegian's acts of arson were slow to spread. They were able to travel at a near-run, guided by light projected from Lissa's staff.

"Better than your thunderbolts, isn't it?" The princess declared, smiling triumphantly.

"Sure, next one of those freaks we come across, you can try blinding them to death." The Plegian shot back. He frowned as the tree line abruptly gave away, revealing a field of weathered stumps. "Big on logging out here?"

"It is standard practice to fell all trees within arrow shot of a Ylissean fortress," Frederick explained automatically. "It denies cover for attackers."

"A fort?" The Plegian inquired, "There's a fort out here?"

Frederick nodded. "Ylisse constructed a series of small holds in the area to keep out invaders," The 'such as yourself' went unspoken. "Though they've long since been abandoned, they've still sturdy walls. We can probably take shelter in them."

"If they're abandoned, who's in there?" The Plegian inquired.

Frederick frowned. The Plegian was right. Somewhat had lit the torches in front of the fort. As they drew closer, shouting could be heard from within.

"Let's find out," Chrom announced as he charged headlong through the open gats. "C'mon!"

"Have you even considered the possibility that this might be a trap?" The Plegian snapped as he followed the prince into the fort.

Alarmed by those words, Frederick plunged in immediately after them.

Whoever had lit the torches outside the fortress had not had time to do the same with the interior. For several tense seconds, all that Frederick could see was flickering shadows. Then Lissa caught up to the rest of them, and the knight decided he was going to have to fire someone.

The light cast by Lissa's staff was white and pure, rather than the discoloring orange shade cast by fires. Underneath its glare, there was no mistaking Sully's trademark red armor. Frederick almost swore as she stood in the center of the fort, standing in front of another individual. He'd _ordered_ the rest of the Shepherds to stay put.

"Lord Chrom! Captain Frederick!" Sully exclaimed. As she spoke, the cavalier drove her foot into the chest of the fort's other occupant, a flamboyantly attired man with a bow. The man toppled with a grunt.

"G-goodness, but those shapely legs certainly can kick, can't they…" The man groaned.

"Sully! Just in time!" Chrom broke in before Frederick could initiate an impromptu court martial. "We're going to need your lance. Think you're up to it?"

The cavalier grinned. "Har! Just say the word!"

"Right," The prince glanced down at the man on the ground. "And, uh, who's your friend?"

The foppish man shot to his feet, smiling as he waved an arm theatrically. "Virion, myth and legend, at your service! Archest of archers, noblest of nobles-"

"-and whiner and blowhard." The Plegian cut in cheerfully. "Not to rush everyone, but you do recall we're being chased by murderous dead people, correct?"

Silence fell within the fort. The same did not hold true outside. The subhuman groans were distant, but clear.

Ever the leader, Chrom sprung into action, "Frederick! Sully! Close the gates!" The prince bellowed. "Everyone else on the walls!"

Frederick moved to obey his prince's wished, but another, no less authoritative voice froze him in his tracks.

"Keep them open!"

Chrom turned to the Plegian, surprised. "What?"

Frederick scowled. "This is no time for your madness!"

"Keep them open!" The Plegian repeated. "Everyone to the gates! We're facing them head on!"

The knight turned to rebuke the idiot, but found the words caught on his lips. The Plegian's expression was utterly serious, his eyes alone enough to freeze Frederick in place.

"Are you mad?" Sully snapped. "Those things will come running right in!"

"We've four hundred yards of eight-foot high walls, far too much space to cover with six people and one light source." The Plegian explained hastily. "An army could slip in without us noticing. No," He pointed to the gate. "We need to draw the bulk of them in at one point. Present them with a more obvious option, so they don't take the time to think about surrounding us."

Frederick wavered. The words almost made sense, but… "That's begging for disaster." The knight snapped. "Get on the walls. And do not question milord agai-"

"Do it."

The knight's head swiveled so fast he almost broke it, "Milord?"

"Do it," Chrom repeated, his eyes on the Plegian. Frederick noted that the prince had that pensive look he'd worn outside of Southtown, the calculating look that usually heralded a new recruit in the Shepherd's ranks. Scowling, Frederick rushed forward to comply.

"Chrom and Sully on the right! Frederick and me on the left! Lissa, keep that stick of yours on but keep your eyes on the walls! If anything comes crawling up behind us, scream bloody murder! Virion, fire as you can!"

Despite the ragtag composition of their party, everyone obeyed the Plegian's orders. Frederick was struck again by the ease with which he assumed authority. The knight moved to stand beside the Plegian, but was immediately stopped by an outstretched hand.

"No," The Plegian stated. "Gate's only wide enough for two to fight comfortably. Me and Chrom in the front. You and Sully behind us. Back us up with your spears. Force them to face two people at the same time."

"What?" Sully exclaimed, "I've never heard of fighting like that before!"

"And I've never met a woman so fat she had to settle for a horse instead of a Pegasus!" The Plegian snapped. "Guess we're all seeing new things today, aren't we?"

"Wha? Why you-!"

"BY THE GODS WE ARE NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION FIVE SECONDS BEFORE WE RISK TURNING INTO CORPSE CHOW! PAIR UP WITH CHROM BEFORE YOU GET US ALL KILLED!"

Frederick watched, impressed, as the hot-headed Sully grudgingly complied. Perhaps… perhaps Chrom was on to something about this… "Robin" after all…

The Plegian took a step toward the gate, presenting his back to the knight. With a flick of his wrist, a sword appeared in Robin's hand. In truth, the curved blade he carried was more sickle than sword, and more axe than sickle. The bronze Khopesh Grimleal priests carried were short and heavy, meant to cleave rather than cut. But in the Plegian's hands it writhed like a serpent, fluid, hypnotic, and sinister.

Robin turned his head to speak to Chrom. This revealed half his profile to Frederick. A chill ran down the knight's spine when he saw fevered light in the Plegian's eye. Was that a smile on the man's lips?

"I don't suppose you know what happens to a dead man when you kill him?" The Plegian asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Chrom threw the man a quick look before turning back to the task at hand. "No."

"Guess it'll be a learning experience for both of us then," The Plegian's mouth split into a full grin. Frederick would swear there were more teeth in it than there by rights should be.

The knight watched as the Plegian turned back to the oncoming threat, exposing his back to Frederick's spear. For a second that lasted an eternity, the knight stared at that back, contemplating the advisability of driving his lance through the maniac's heart. It was the sight of the Risen, dozens of them, that decided the matter for Frederick. Whatever threat this Plegian presented, it could not possibly be more dangerous or more immediate than the monstrosities bearing down on them.

In the years that came, the knight would often look back with regret on his decision.

* * *

**Don't forget to leave a review on your way out! :D**


End file.
